Albany County Planning and Zoning Sets March 11 Hearing on Zoning Amendments

The Albany County Planning and Zoning Commission convened a public hearing on March 11 to consider proposed amendments to the Albany County Zoning Resolution, a packet of changes published in the county's Document Center and associated NewsFlash that touched on livestock regulations, mobile home parks and revisions to "zoning certificate" procedures.

Among the most substantive items before the commission was a request to rezone 146.38 acres at 221 Two Rivers Road, a parcel northwest of Laramie near the Laramie River, from agricultural to ranchette designation. The applicant is seeking to subdivide the property into 5-acre residential lots.

Planning staff reported that the applicant submitted a site plan and satisfied public notice requirements under Chapter 3 Section 5.C.3 of the Albany County Zoning Resolution. The property sits within Priority Growth Area 3 and Priority Growth Area 4 as identified in the Albany County Comprehensive Plan, a designation that factored into staff's analysis.

Albany County Associate Planner Joe Wilmes outlined the threshold the commission must clear to approve any rezoning. "(For approval, the board or commissioners must find) that the applicant has provided a site plan as required by the planning department; that the zoning district amendment generally follows the suggestions of the Albany County Comprehensive Plan and other land-use plans; and that the applicant has demonstrated that the adjudicated zoning district amendment meets all required impacts," Wilmes said.

The planning department indicated the Two Rivers Road proposal clears at least part of that standard. "The planning department believes the proposed zoning district amendment generally follows the suggestions of the Albany County Comprehensive Plan as part of this property is located within Priority Growth Area 3 and is near a concentration of existing residences and has an existing county road and existing utility lines."

The commission also took up election administration matters. Polling locations for an upcoming special election will be consolidated to five sites: the Laramie Ice & Event Center, the Municipal Operations Center, the Albany County Fairgrounds, the Albany County Public Library and Rock River Town Hall. The consolidation was driven by expected low voter turnout, which in similar elections typically averages about 25 percent.

Looking further ahead, Albany County is moving toward a vote center model for the 2026 election cycle, under which voters could cast ballots at any participating location rather than a single assigned precinct.

No final votes on the zoning amendments or the rezoning request were reported from the March 11 hearing. The commission's recommendations on any of the proposed changes would ultimately require action by the Albany County Board of County Commissioners before taking effect.